8/21 - School is in session!!

Aiden has been obsessed with lizards since we have moved back to Florida. He keeps saying he wants one as a pet. We went to our friends beach house a few days before school started and much to Aiden's delight, his friend, Carter, catches lizards. We just pull up after a 1.5 hr drive and I open the van door and Carter runs up and puts a lizard on Aiden's arm (see upper left picture). I thought Aiden was going to flip out. He didn't. Not at all. He stayed pretty calm. Aiden eventually holds the lizard, pets it, picks it up, and lets it crawl all over him!!! It was so awesome. With the help of Sue and Carter, they caught a lizard that we took home and kept for 1.5 days. It was a beautiful nice little lizard (never thought I would say that about a lizard). It a little chameleon one too. I was too scared it was going to die on us because I have no idea how to catch the bugs it needs to eat so we let it go. Come to find out later, the lizards that have kinda taken over North Florida are the mean lizards and actually eat these small lizards that are actually from the area so it makes me sad to think of this little guys fate. We did give him a habitat for a few days though and then Aiden caught another lizard at our friends house and we kept that for a few days too. We are currently lizard-free for the moment. 

I forgot that it had been over a year since the boys have been to a beach. They both were hesitant to walk on the sand at the beginning and complaining that sand was getting in their crocs.  Eli tried digging holes for a bit. He just enjoyed himself running away from the water and running in the water a bit and then just digging holes.


Aiden was brave enough to try and ride on the boogie board on his stomach. Carter did a great job of not pulling/yanking him to fast around to make him fall off ... after he did it once and we asked him not to do it :) Aiden had a good time.



Some of the best times for the boys were just hanging out at Sue's after we ate some dinner. Eli had a blast playing on the tire swing and Aiden got to fly frisbee with Riley for a while. We got home super late and the boys were totally worn out but we all had a good time.

After realizing that all of Aiden's pencils for school had to be sharpened, I got an electric sharper because I have better things to do than sharpen 40 pencils by hand. The boys had a blast sharpening all the pencils for Aiden's class so it worked out perfect.

Aiden had orientation at his school on Monday. We got to meet his teacher (who is fabulous). There are 3 pods of tables in Aiden's room of 4 students each but she's got more students than that so 2 students sit at this big table in the back corner. That's Aiden table. I actually think he likes because it's less people to 'bother' him and he's on the left side so no one to bump elbows with (he's a lefty). His 'First day of kindergarten' pictures crack me up because it was just starting to sprinkle and he just wouldn't let it go (hence the hand being held out to 'see if it was raining still'). After meeting his teaching, seeing where he was going to sit, and having some questions answered, he was all ready to start the next day.

Tuesday was the first day of school. Both boys were so excited. Eli and I walked Aiden to his classroom (after parking up over a curb on the grass and making it through the mobs of people) and Aiden got to look at a book while we waited for his classroom to be open. Mrs. McEachen had play-doh waiting at the tables for them. Exciting news: Aiden sorta played with it!! Eli was so encouraging to him and giving him ideas for the play-doh. I finally told Eli it was time to go and he gave his brother a huge hug. So cute. I eventually found out he asked two questions throughout the day: Is it time to go home yet?

I then dropped Eli off at his new daycare. Eli was so sad. He didn't know anybody and his big brother was not there for the first time ever (they've almost always gone to the same daycare). Eli was crying and it broke my heart. I was fine with Aiden but Eli made me get a little tear in my eye hearing him cry like that when I left. I called a few hours later to check on him and he did great. 

As a "great job" reward for their first days, we wen to see Planes. They loved it and had a blast. The motorcycles on the way out were too enticing not to stop by and try out though. I am fine with that as long as they don't expect me to give them money for those crazy things. :) 

All this excitement was just too much for Aiden. He crashed on the way home from the movies. Little stinker Eli won't nap for me at home but he slept for 2 hrs at daycare. (He's been sleeping about 2 hrs almost everyday since he started now)

I've been working a little project: A menu for Aiden. I am determined to not let Aiden eat yogurt and some carb for every lunch so here is my attempt at a balanced lunch and letting him choose things but still having variety. Thus we have Aiden's lunch menu. I google imaged a bunch of things that I know Aiden will eat (lots of carby snacks and fruit) and then researched some ideas that other parents had for lunches. His only rules are that once he uses a card (a food), he can't use it anymore. This forces variety and for him to try new things. He's made up a banana burrito so far (1 half of a sandwich thin with peanut butter and a banana half wrapped inside) and has chosen things for his menu that normally are an issue for him to eat at home (salad, cucumber, peppers, etc). I was so excited that he chose this for his menu but here is the real kicker: I'm not telling him anything regarding how much of his lunch he is supposed to eat and he's still eating a great portion of the items he normally won't even eat for me at home!!!! AWESOME! 

 The other really cool thing is that he makes most of his own lunch the night before. Here he is putting peanut butter on his crackers. It's great because he's learning how to use butter knives and sharper knives for fruit and vegetables (yes I am supervising him). He puts on exactly how much peanut butter he wants so I don't have to hear complaints of how I put too much on and it came out the sides or that there wasn't enough. He actually gets excited to make his lunch!! I never thought that would happen. He's also finding ways for little brother to help. Tonight he let Eli scoop in the Chex mix in the container while Aiden was putting nuts in his other container. I'm loving this. He makes the menu on Saturday so I can make sure I have the stuff and if I don't have something then I take the card out so he can't choose it. This week we had to shuffle a few things around (switching fruits for a day and a vegetable another day) but he's just fine with it. 

Even though he hasn't napped in weeks, the fact that he doesn't have a rest period anymore is just wearing this kid down. I wake Aiden up to take him potty before I go to bed and I flushed the toilet for him and walked into his room and he wasn't there. After a slight panic I found him in my room (across the house) on the floor on the crash pads under the swing. Poor kid.

My mom and I went to Aiden's school last week to have lunch with him. It was fun and he enjoyed (see picture to left) but then cried once it was time to go back to his class.












Aiden has been adapting really well. He got his first V (very good) for conduct last Friday and was super excited. He LOVES taking the bus to and from school and just got assigned seats today and is really excited about that. He loves his seat right by the driver :)

I wanted to include this picture for Brad. While we have had a few horrendous bath times, we've had 1-2 good ones too. Here is one where Aiden is laughing because they were drinking shower water and then spitting it back out.

My little man getting on the bus to go to school. Eli goes with me sometimes to wait with Aiden for his bus but then Eli gets sad once Aiden gets on and starts crying. We are all still adjusting. 

On Saturday we wanted to go have some fun down by the amenity center. He are Nana and Aiden up in the treehouse. We all played putt putt and the boys had fun. Aiden played the course about 3 times I think although he never waited for us to finish hole together. I think Eli and I were on  Hole 4 and Aiden had finished all 9 and was starting over again. 

Eli ended up just preferring to watch other people play because he just found it too hard. 

I thought we still needed some exercise so we became race cars and raced around the putt putt golf holes. That was actually a lot of fun. I wanted to take a cute picture of the boys and I before we left but I tired them out so much that Eli (green shirt) wouldn't do anything that I asked him to do and Aiden (white shirt) just wanted to tell us each letter written on his shirt.

I start school on Monday!!! I will be teaching at Jacksonville University as well as the College of Southern Maryland. I'm so so so excited to be back in the classroom this semester although this fall semester is going to stink pretty much because I have to commute there (about 1 hr each way) on MWF and fight morning traffic and drop Eli off crazy early at daycare. After 2 weeks of getting adjusted to school, things are going to get even crazier as I go back to work and my schedule will impact all of us. We miss you so much Brad!!! As Aiden prays every night, "Please let daddy do well on his school work so that he can hurry and come home."

8/10 - The Sensory Swing

High on my priority list has been to get some type of swing for smarty pants to help with his sensory issues and be part of his sensory diet. We originally hung up the spandex fabric that I have for a swing in our doorway to the bathroom on our pull-up bar. It works fine for swinging front to back which is what smarty pants likes to do. Crazy boy really enjoyed spinning but that is too tight of a space and I'm scared he is going to hit the wall. 

My hubby and I brainstormed over what else we could do and what options we had. With hubby gone (and unable to build anything), I wanted something that was less than the $250-300 that I could spend buying something on-line that would work inside. So I figured it out when I saw this swing at our local walmart. I bought it, put it together (the pieces that I wanted) in about 30 min (with a 3 and 5 yr old "helping") and then had the boys up and swinging. I was going to get swing that didn't have a support bar across the bottom but when I actually swang on it, I felt like this one was much sturdier and worth the potential accident seeing how I plan on supervising the swinging. I bought a pool noodle to put over the support bar that is towards the back of the swing and used all the seat cushions that came with it as "crash pads" at the bottom. I bought what I call the "pod" at IKEA a few weeks ago for less than $40. I hooked it up the boys loved it. 

I love this because it's inside and the weather and time of day does not interfere with us using it. I had to experiment with the height of the spandex to allow enough room for one of them to fit in it and their bottom not touch the ground but also low enough for smarty pants to be able to get in it and swing regular. The boys love taking turns and pushing it each other. We had to establish some guidelines of how "hard" to push and then when someone says "stop," that means to stop right away. Since both boys were in agreement, they were rules that were not a problem. I actually attached the large clips to the sides where holes were already made in the metal for the actual swing to go. I just tied the fabric in a giant knot and made sure it was secure. 

Twisting is a bit hard to do with the fabric clips that far away but can easily be done with the help of an adult. 

Below is smarty pants swinging by himself.

As for the IKEA pod, that is working out great as well. We put a bean bag in the bottom of it (it has a separate zippered space for some type of cushioning). Because the swing frame is somewhat low (compared to anchoring the pod from the ceiling which is what IKEA had developed it for), I just a knot in the top of the fabric and hang it on one of the huge clips that we have. As for the pod, it is easy for them to push themselves because they can push on the pool-noodle covered bar which works out great when they want to be alone or need a time-out kind of swinging. They also really enjoyed it because it was like a mini zip line and they could slide up and down the length of the swing. I have a pair of large clips that I bought at Home Depot for 99 cents each and have now put those up on the frame when they are in the pod if I am not wanting them to be able to zip up and down. 

I am getting another piece of spandex material and am making a tunnel out of it. I will be also be hanging that and it will be great for them to climb through the tunnel starting at one of the swing and going to the other.    

The more we play with the swing, the more things my son finds to do. He has found he likes to stand up in the pod and swing back and forth. We have also now hung a rope up around the frame and he can pull himself up from the fabric. We are loving this swing and finding so many different ways to use it. I'm so thankful that I can find a way for him to get some of the sensory experiences he needs here at home.

8/8 - Getting adjusted

This first picture is a couple weeks old. The last week we were in Alabama a little girl in Eli's class at daycare got Fifths Disease. I had never even heard of it but did some research and kept my eye open to see if he would get it. We made it past a week or two and figured we were safe. Haha. Not so fast. As a nice kick in the seat pants from the boys' daycare, Eli got it about 3-3.5 weeks after we left AL. He got these little red bumps all over his arms and some on his legs. His cheeks also got crazy pink. In fact, the disease also has a nickname of slap-on-face or something like it because one of the key characteristics is that it looks like somebody slapped him on the cheeks. By the time someone with the disease shows symptoms (especially the rash), it is no longer contagious. He had a very mild fever for 2-3 days before the rash came and I thought perhaps it was an ear infection because his one ear has been bothering him alot. I took him to his primary care to get a physical so he could attend daycare and the dr confirmed the Fifths disease and no ear infection. The last picture in the bottom right cracks me up. I went to go check on Eli before I went to bed and he fell asleep holding his toy water gun. 

We got back from our family vacation on a Saturday late afternoon and then Brad took off 1.5 days later on Monday morning. Here is a picture of Aiden helping Brad tie his motorcycle down in the back of the truck. Aiden was so scared Brad was going to leave without saying good-bye. Once Brad got his bike in the back of his truck (he put his back wheels in the gutter in front of our driveway), he got in it to move it back into the driveway and Aiden flipped out and almost started to cry because daddy was leaving. I had to quickly let him know that daddy was just moving the truck. It's safe to say Aiden is finally at the stage where he really does understand what happens when daddy leaves. Eli clearly does not yet. He didn't even really say bye to Brad because he was getting distracted with a toy. Eli tells me everyday how much he misses daddy and he also asks everyday if daddy is coming tomorrow or soon. Eli has a horrible understanding of time so that doesn't make things any easier. 

The day after daddy left, the boys had a dentist appt. It's been a little too long since they have visited the dentist. The pediatric dentist the boys go to is awesome. Eli went first and he did NOT do such a great job. He started crying a few times but eventually got control of himself. He was super glad when he was done and I never got to take a picture because I was too busy trying to calm him. As for Aiden, they did x-rays and he needed some extra assistance so the assistant helped him while I pushed the x-ray button. Fun! I was shocked she was able to get Aiden to take x-rays. He thought it was way too bright in the chair and they didn't even have the light turned on. He put his sunglasses on and was good to go. He was uncomfortable during the cleaning but totally rocked the cleaning in my book. I thought for sure he was going to gag and almost throw up and be crying and none of that happened. The picture below of Eli cracks me up because you can see a little tear in his eye still from crying. He was smiling in the picture because he was opening his goodie bag and was super excited about his new Diego toothbrush. He thought the dental floss was really fun to pull but has no desire to put it in his mouth at all.

This picture of Aiden cracks me up because he was so excited to make this dinosaur and cut it out and yet his facial expression does not portray that. 

The other day we had fruit kabobs (thanks to mrs. Rusty introducing us to them) at breakfast. I'm getting them used to these so I can rock their world soon and add different kinds of meat!! mwah hahah

I just love that Aiden could sit and listen to someone read his Bible to him all day long. He loves it.

Little Eli ... man does he give me a run for my money. Good thing he is so cute. I don't remember what we were doing put I can only assume that the only reason he has a shirt in his hand is because it's a requirement in our house in order to get food (and Eli loves himself some food). I must say though. For someone who loves food as much as he does, he does not like flavored drinks. It baffles me but I'm okay with it since most drinks that kids (and adults) have are full of sugar anyway. He likes almond milk and water. And special water (water with a little Mio flavoring). He also cannot stand smoothies of any kind. We make green smoothies on a daily or at least every other day basis and he is required to have a sip at least twice a week but he doesn't like them. Even non-green smoothies which have fruit only. He doesn't like those either. Unfortunately, getting him to take any kind of liquid medicine is a nightmare because he doesn't like the taste of anything.

Last week Aiden and I had a knock down drag out fight in the shower. He cried and screamed the ENTIRE TIME. I tried calming him down, giving him options, etc and nothing was going to work. He just (as he put it) "didn't want to get wet." I was going to have them shower together in our massive shower in the master bedroom but made Aiden eventually go to his bedroom because he was crying so much even though he hadn't even gotten in the shower yet. Eli had a blast in his shower and does such a great job. I guess God gave me one child who loves to bath and clean himself with soap because I have another who despises it so much.

In case you were not sure who this is, it's super hero Eli. I can't imagine those jammies actually stayed on during the night but I officially have proof that he does have jammies that fit him; he just usually chooses to not where them. 

On Saturday I took both boys to the pool in the morning. It was fun. Aiden tried to make it miserable by saying he "changed his mind" and wanted to eat his snack at the pool rather than in the van on the way to the pool. He was so upset when I said there was nothing I could do about it this time. He was crying and said he wanted to go back home. I inappropriately asked him if he wanted me to make him throw his bagel back up so he could then re-eat it at the pool. I told him we were not leaving and he could sit and cry in the chair  if he didn't want to come and have fun with Eli and I (see picture of him in chair). I called Eli over to take a picture before I put my phone away and I saw Aiden look at us. I asked if he wanted to be in the picture and he jumped up and came over and put his arms around us. He had a smile on his face for the rest of the pool time.

Eli loves animals. It's unfortunate he thinks they want to play with him and they are perhaps toy to be played with. Here he is with Pouncer after he put his blanket on him and was petting Pouncy on the head.

On Saturday afternoon, Aiden started to get the sniffles a little. I put him to bed at his normal time and then he was up 2 times a coughed a few times and then went back to sleep. About 45 min after he originally went to bed, he was suddenly up and somewhat barking like a seal. He couldn't catch his breathe. It was freaking me out because it wasn't the same thing as when he had croup when he was younger but you could tell he was not able to breathe very well. I ran and got the nebulizer and started to give him a breathing treatment but he hasn't needed one in so long that he freaked out with the noise of the machine and the "smell and taste" of the medicine (according to Aiden). I stopped it and just have him his inhaler. I searched frantically for my stethoscope which hadn't been unpacked yet. I have no idea how parents who don't have a stethoscope and know how to use it survive. Yes I realize that is the majority of the population but I felt like I was flying blind. By the grace of God, I found mine and was able to listen to him. His lungs didn't sound as bad as his cough did so I tried to calm him down (thank you DVR and Handy Manny). I got his breathing under control but it was still labored and I was still feeling borderline about taking him to the ER. I propped him up on the couch and slept near him all night. I had to readjust him a few times because his breathing would get all crazy but we made it through the night. I was so glad my mom was here because it brought peace of mind knowing that I could take him to the ER if needed and Eli would still be okay. We stayed home all day sunday with Aiden. He was breathing better but had a yucky cough. 

Of course the law of life when your hubby is away dictates that both kids will get urgently sick within the first week of being gone so Eli followed suite the next night with the same thing. He was fine and then BOOM, severe coughing bouts. Eli is a little more dramatic but he also has reactive airway disease so I guess he thinks he has the right to be more dramatic. Haha. In order to allow everyone the ability to sleep on Sunday, I eventually brought Eli in to my room and propped him up and he was able to sleep for a little bit (as was I). He felt pretty yucky on Monday but thankfully Aiden was getting better. Eli's sleep has been off for the past few weeks and I'm not sure what is going on. He didn't fall asleep until 1 hr and 50 min into his nap time and I didn't let him very long because I'm trying to get him back on a schedule. That said, the child was complete mush in my arms and didn't want to wake up on Monday. Monday and Tuesday night I (and Eli) didn't get much sleep but hopefully we have his cough under control now and things will start to improve.

We stayed home for a few days so that we wouldn't get anyone sick and we were starting go a little crazy. We got out the store bought play-doh one day and realized it was too hard so we decided to make some new stuff. I love making our own play-doh. It's so easy and pretty quick. It would be such a great sensory experience for the boys to play with it while it's still warm and cooling put .... I don't think that will ever happen. We played with play-doh and put toothpicks in them. Here is the lego man lifting his barbell of play-doh.

This picture to the right makes me smile. Eli is trying to put sunglasses on Pouncer and he's got this devilish smile on his face. I'm starting to see more and more of that crazy devilish smile but he's just too cute.